Reese Witherspoon to pen debut novel; teams up with Harlan Coben for a suspense-filled thrill ride

Reese Witherspoon is stepping into the world of authorship, teaming up with bestselling author Harlan Coben for her debut suspense novel.

Based on Witherspoon’s original idea, the project was announced by Ben Sevier, the president of Grand Central Publishing.

Not only will the book be published, but a screen adaptation is also in the works.

In a statement, Witherspoon expressed her excitement about the collaboration, and stated, ‘To say I am a fan of Harlan’s body of work is a massive understatement … the fact that he found my idea for this thriller intriguing enough to want to partner with me on it as co-author is a dream becoming a reality. Scheming with Harlan on how to thrill audiences with mysterious characters and complex narrative twists and turns has already been more fun than I can describe. I can’t wait for everyone to read what we have been imagining.’

‘I’ve been a huge Reese Witherspoon fan for years,’ Coben said.

‘Be it acting, producing, creating and even book-club selecting, Reese’s instincts about storytelling across all media are unrivaled. Once we began discussing her idea, there was no turning back. Collaborating with Reese has been a pure joy and so creatively rewarding. I could not be more excited about putting this novel out into the world,’ he added.

Though this is Witherspoon’s first foray into writing, she’s no stranger to the literary world. As the founder of Hello Sunshine, she has championed female-centered stories, launching Reese’s Book Club in 2016, which has successfully brought many bestselling books to the screen, including Little Fires Everywhere and Daisy Jones & The Six.

The novel is slated for release in fall 2025, with a simultaneous release in the U.K. through Century, a division of Penguin Random House.

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